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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ulbrandt, Jeffrey G., Zhang, Xiaozhi, Headrick, Randall L.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.19181
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author Ulbrandt, Jeffrey G.
Zhang, Xiaozhi
Headrick, Randall L.
author_facet Ulbrandt, Jeffrey G.
Zhang, Xiaozhi
Headrick, Randall L.
contents Pulsed laser epitaxial growth is characterized by high instantaneous deposition rates that leads to the nucleation of transient islands, both on surface terraces, and on top of stable islands formed during previous deposition pulses. We report results from combined in-situ X-ray reflectivity and kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations. Specular reflectivity monitors interlayer transport, while diffuse scattering reveals the evolution of in-plane length scales, both during the recovery time between individual laser pulses and over multiple deposited layers. The initial stage after each laser pulse is faster than the temporal resolution of the experiment, while subsequent recovery occurs over seconds. The results suggest that transient islands on top of stable two-dimensional islands form immediately after the deposition pulse, and then ripen via detachment and diffusion, leading to the slower component. kMC simulations show that the detachment energy barrier plays a dominant role in determining the recovery time constant.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_19181
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Detachment limited interlayer transport processes during SrTiO3 pulsed laser epitaxy
Ulbrandt, Jeffrey G.
Zhang, Xiaozhi
Headrick, Randall L.
Materials Science
Pulsed laser epitaxial growth is characterized by high instantaneous deposition rates that leads to the nucleation of transient islands, both on surface terraces, and on top of stable islands formed during previous deposition pulses. We report results from combined in-situ X-ray reflectivity and kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations. Specular reflectivity monitors interlayer transport, while diffuse scattering reveals the evolution of in-plane length scales, both during the recovery time between individual laser pulses and over multiple deposited layers. The initial stage after each laser pulse is faster than the temporal resolution of the experiment, while subsequent recovery occurs over seconds. The results suggest that transient islands on top of stable two-dimensional islands form immediately after the deposition pulse, and then ripen via detachment and diffusion, leading to the slower component. kMC simulations show that the detachment energy barrier plays a dominant role in determining the recovery time constant.
title Detachment limited interlayer transport processes during SrTiO3 pulsed laser epitaxy
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.19181